Aurora’s public libraries, cash-strapped and downsized, continue to get by with a little help from their friends.

The city’s library system, which has been hit hard with recent budget cuts and staffing reductions, has managed some lean years with financial assistance from Friends of the Aurora Public Library, a local nonprofit.

The organization, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, has given more than $600,000 in donations to Aurora libraries since it first gained nonprofit status, said Kathy Forsman, board member for Friends of the Aurora Public Library.

The city is paying tribute to those efforts, declaring Friends of the Aurora Public Library Week, which began Sunday and continues through Saturday.

It’ll mark the first time the city has acknowledged the group with an official proclamation, Forsman said.

Friends of the Aurora Public Library raises money from the sale of used books at its Book Outlet, a 2,000-square-foot store at 2243 S. Peoria St. It’s one of just a few nonprofits in the country that benefit public libraries with a dedicated storefront operation.

Most organizations raise money through annual book sales and other one-time charitable events, Forsman said.

The shop is managed by a team of about 50 volunteers and each year sells tens of thousands of used books, often for as little as 30 cents a copy, Forsman said.

Last year, the nonprofit gave about $50,000 to the city, and board members expect to provide a similar amount this year. Much of it will help supplement the purchase of new materials, an area that’s been pared down in recent years.

The library’s materials budget, which funds the addition of new books, CDs, DVDs and other items, is about 39 percent of what it was compared with 2009, said Patti Bateman, library and cultural-services manager for Aurora.

Though the city has worked to replenish the library system since 2010 — when it shuttered four branches and laid off dozens of employees — it still remains a shadow of what it once was, Forsman said.

The owners of Boulder’s Sterling University Peaks apartments, who this summer were cited for illegally subdividing 92 bedrooms in the complex, have reached an agreement to settle the case for $410,000, the city announced Thursday.